SAN DIEGO (PRWEB)
April 13, 2023
There is a lot of buzz around longevity science these days, from the $2B launch of Jeff Bezos-backed Altos’ longevity company, to Dr. Mark Hyman’s recent #1 New York Times bestseller, Young Forever.
While the fountain of youth has been sought after for centuries, rapidly advancing anti-aging science is turning what used to be considered sci-fi into reality.
At the forefront of advancements in longevity is Dr. Stephanie Venn-Watson, who has spent decades helping Navy dolphins live healthier and longer. Dr. Venn-Watson, Seraphina’s CEO, will be presenting her team’s groundbreaking longevity discoveries at the 9th Annual Biohacking Conference in Orlando, Florida during June 2023.
“While most longevity research involves short-lived mice, worms and flies, our question has been, how have humans, dolphins, and other long-lived animals already evolved to live longer than mice in the first place?” asked Dr. Venn-Watson. “If we can figure out how we live longer than mice, we can leverage and optimize those superpowers to further extend both our healthspan and lifespan.”
At the upcoming 9th Annual Biohacking Conference, Dr. Venn-Watson will be presenting how C15:0, an odd-chain saturated fatty acid, directly targets key hallmarks of aging to meaningfully improve our healthspan and perhaps even extend longevity. Dr. Venn-Watson will also share results from a groundbreaking study comparing C15:0 to the top longevity-enabling candidates, including metformin and rapamycin.
Back in 2020, Dr. Venn-Watson published a keystone, peer reviewed paper in Nature’s Scientific Reports demonstrating that C15:0 is the first essential fatty acid to be discovered since omega-3, which was over 90 years ago. Essential fatty acids are nutrients that our bodies need to stay healthy, but can’t make, requiring us to get these nutrients from our diet or supplements.
The unexpected discovery of C15:0 (pentadecanoic acid) as critical to supporting long-term health was made while Dr. Venn-Watson was helping older Navy dolphins. “We found that some dolphins were aging at a faster rate than others,” shared Dr. Venn-Watson. “Excitingly, when dolphins were provided a diet higher in C15:0, they not only had improved metabolic and liver health, they also had evidence of slower aging.” These two studies were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and PLOS ONE.
Today, over 70 peer-reviewed studies from prestigious teams throughout the world have demonstrated C15:0’s role in supporting long-term metabolic, heart, liver and immune human health. Some studies have linked higher C15:0 to longer life.
This discovery was particularly surprising given that C15:0 is a saturated fatty acid. For over 40 years, we have been told to avoid all dietary saturated fats. While this nutritional guidance has been pervasive, it is now known that there are “good” and “bad” saturated fats. Even-chain, pro-inflammatory saturated fatty acids (like C16:0) continue to be associated with increased risks of type 2 diabetes and heart disease. In contrast, odd-chain saturated fatty acids (especially C15:0) are healthy fatty acids repeatedly associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease. While C15:0 is present in trace amounts in whole fat dairy products, these same foods contain much higher levels of pro-inflammatory even-chain saturated fats.
Due to decreased intake of dairy fat, paired with natural declines in C15:0 levels that occur with age, populationwide C15:0 levels have been declining. “Our hypothesis is that nutritional C15:0 deficiencies may be driving the global rise in type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and liver diseases,” said Dr. Venn-Watson. “There is increasing concern that nutritional deficiencies in C15:0 may be accelerating our aging rates and, in fact, decreasing our longevity.” Furthering Dr. Venn-Watson’s point, human longevity has been declining over the past 2 years.
At the 9th Annual Biohacking Conference, Dr. Venn-Watson will also present how long-lived mammals, including humans, have likely used C15:0 to extend longevity. “By optimizing this molecule to restore our C15:0 levels and tap into our longevity pathways, C15:0 is becoming the ultimate longevity biohack.”
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About Seraphina Therapeutics. Inc.
Seraphina Therapeutics, Inc. is a health and wellness company dedicated to advancing global health through the discovery of essential fatty acids and micronutrient therapeutics. Through rigorous breakthrough science, the company develops fatty acid supplements, food fortifiers, and nutritional interventions to strengthen cells, keep mitochondria working and advance cellular homeostasis to counter age-related breakdown. With its team of industry-leading scientists, Seraphina Therapeutics challenges long-held approaches to nutrition, enabling the creation of novel health products designed to support quality of life. For more information, please visit DiscoverC15.com and fatty15.com.
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